Ferrari F430 vs F430 GTC

Maranello's street and race steeds.

The fact that a race car is faster than a street car is nothing surprising. What shocks the senses, though, is to see just how far the gap between two seemingly near-identical machines can be. The Ferrari F430 and the Michelotto-prepared F430 GTC share common unit-bodies and drivetrain configurations, but the devil is in the details and it's these details that keep these cars worlds apart.

Both cars have mid-mounted V-8 engines driving the rear wheels through sequential-shift transaxles. Practically speaking, this offers optimum weight distribution, quick shifts and a degree of modularity for repairs and upgrades.

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In fact, Risi Competizione, the team that fields both the No. 61 and 62 cars, had just received new engines for the Miller race weekend. Unlike the previous race's gasoline-fueled engines, these consume E85, the same stuff most of the cars on the ALMS grid are utilizing. Benefits to converting to ethanol were too good to pass up: Higher octane, larger tanks and bigger refueling rigs mounted higher up (so there's more "head" or pressure to drive the fuel into the tank) were all great reasons to make the switch. As ALMS rules dictate, though, they still had to run the stock heads and cylinder block of a street F430, albeit with some modifications.

2010 Ferrari F430

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But the switch comes at a price. With E85, the GTC makes 18 less horsepower, but 33 lb.-ft. more torque than the street car. Blame an intake restrictor and slightly less displacement for the horsepower loss, and careful camshaft tuning and optimization of the richer mixture necessary for the E85 for the torque boost.

Regardless of fuel, the power the engine generates still gets to the ground via a 6-speed sequential transaxle. The stock F430 utilizes a semi-automatic paddle-shift arrangement. Each time you pull back on a steering column-mounted paddle, the powertrain computers control the clutch, engine speed and gear selector assembly.

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The GTC uses a Hewland gearbox that's been further optimized by Risi. The box is not actuated via paddles, but rather a billet aluminum lever topped with a Delrin shift knob. Shifting is easy: Push forward to downshift and pull back to upshift. Unlike the street car, the race car has a clutch pedal, but it's used only to get the car going. Once at speed, the dog-tooth gearbox will literally slam into gear, sans clutch, with the help of the engine-management system.

2010 Ferrari F430

Between the engine and transmission, that means the race car can accelerate from 80 mph to 130 a whopping 3 seconds faster than the street car.

Another similarity between the cars, and the one generating the most comments from Ferrari factory race driver Jaime Melo, is the braking. Both cars use steel rotors, bound by multi-piston monoblock-style calipers. The GTC, though, has the benefit of increased size and more forced air cooling to keep temperatures in check.

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"On this kind of track you have to be very easy on the brakes, especially because of the heavy braking zones. You can't put as much temperature in the brakes because they're not made for racing," says Melo. As one of the best closed-top racers on Ferrari's roster, Melo was heavily involved with the development process of the GTC and knows the workings of it intimately. Carbon-ceramic rotors are optional on the F430 street car, although our car was equipped with the cast-iron discs.

Ferrari F430 GTC Michelotto

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Surrounding the brakes is another big difference between the two machines. Like many of the other ALMS cars, the GTC wears Michelin race slicks in 300-mm front and 310-mm rear widths on 18-in. center-lock wheels. The street car sports Pirelli P Zero Rossos in size 225 front and 285 rear, mounted on 19-in. wheels. With such a disparity in tire size, it's no wonder the stock F430 understeers. Melo explains, "The handling of the F430 road car is very good. I think it might be too good for me, because I'd like to have a little bit more of a nervous car. The rear of the car is too safe, so I have some understeer. It makes my minimum speeds too slow. I drove with everything off, with no assistance, so I had some good times coming out of the corners going sideways, a bit drifty. The power is already good for a road car; if you smash the gas, you'll get some oversteer. But even still it's a safe car to drive on the track and on the road."

Both cars feature adjustable dampers, but there are vast differences with the suspension. The driver of the F430 street car can adjust the electronic damper settings using the steering wheel-mounted manettino. This knob also adjusts the differential, traction and stability control, and throttle maps. While Melo and his teammate Gianmaria Bruni are unable to change the settings in the race car, they can radio Risi's Technical Director Rich Mayer, and he can instruct his trusty crew to make whatever adjustments when the car is in the garage. The alignment (toe, camber and caster), anti-roll bars and fully adjustable shocks can be set to preference, springs swapped out and preload and ride height can be fine-tuned.

Ferrari F430 GTC Michelotto

Says Melo about the road car's on-track performance, "Everything is much slower than on the race car, so everything is predictable. On the brakes you feel all the movement and the weight, because the suspension has a lot more travel compared to the race car. You can really feel the car pitching down and up."

The last difference between the street and race car is aerodynamics. While the street car features a diffuser and trick underbody aerodynamics that actually generate downforce, the race car uses a very visible rear wing, front splitter and canards. The rear wing is adjustable and is mandated to run with a Gurney flap for additional downforce and drag. Many of the body panels have been slightly tweaked to ensure optimum laminar flow around the car, minimizing air resistance and helping direct air into and out of the radiators. Of course, all of the exterior panels (except the roof) are made of carbon fiber for weight savings.

2010 Ferrari F430 & Ferrari F430 GTC Michelotto

All told, the F430 GTC and F430 street car are like shades of red: in a similar family, yes, but totally different. It's no wonder that even with the race car's slightly reduced power, the downforce-producing trick bodywork and aero bits combined with the road-gripping slicks and suspension translate to a nearly 25-sec. gap after just one 3.048-mile lap of Miller Motorsports Park. That gap is nothing short of jaw-dropping.